Page 31 of A Thistle Beyond Time
He still looked concerned, but he allowed her to put the towel down as he tried to conceal what was obvious to Jenna – she had aroused him. She secretly smiled at the obvious response he’d had. So, she was apparently having the same effect on him, as he was having on her. She cleared her throat when she sat on the blanket beside him.
“Cormac, would you mind putting some sunscreen on my back?” Jenna asked as she handed him the tube of sunscreen. He stared at it, as if it was something he’d obviously never seen before.
“Don’t tell me… they don’t have sunscreen where you’re from,” she stated matter-of-factly.
“Nae, lass, they dinnae.”
“Here.” She took the cover off and squirted some into his hands. “Now, you rub it into my back until you can’t see it anymore. Okay?”
“Aye.”
She could feel the heat of his hands before they even touched her back. If she had been thinking clearly, she would have realized what a bad idea this was. His large hands covered her back easily as he applied the sunscreen to every bit of exposed skin. He was very thorough in his ministrations, stopping only momentarily to squeeze more sunscreen into his hands and then he went to work on her legs, gently covering them from top to bottom. She couldn’t tell how uncomfortable he might be, but she was starting to feel an aching sensation between her thighs as his hands lightly brushed near the source of her sweet discomfort. She snuck a peek and was pleasantly surprised to see that he was looking at her with an unusually pained expression on his face. He wiped his hands on a nearby towel and then dove face down onto the blanket. She thought she might know why and smiled as she glanced over at him. His lustrous ebony locks were covering his handsome face and Jenna was surprised by the fact that she had a desire to see his eyes.
“Cormac, let me do something with your hair. It can’t be comfortable all over your face like that.” She sat up and reached for the beach bag. She searched through the pockets and came up with a hair tie and a brush. Jenna motioned for him to sit with his back to her and she brushed his beautiful hair into a ponytail and then into a man bun at the base of his neck. She couldn’t help observing that he was quite tanned, from head to toe. He must spend a good deal of time shirtless and the mental image practically made her drool. “Do you want me to put some sunscreen on your back for you?”
“Why would I needsunscreen, lass.”
“Oh… well, it’s to keep you from getting sunburn. Too much sun is not good for your skin.”
“’Tis not?”
“No. It can cause skin cancer, age spots and wrinkles.” Why was she taking the time to explain this to him? He had to know all of this already. It wasn’t a secret, but somehow she almost believed he didn’t know. His reactions seemed so very genuine.
“Aye, then I will nae stop ye, if ye wish to put it on me.”
Jenna went to work covering his back with the sunscreen and relishing the feel of his warm skin beneath her palms. She skimmed over the hard planes of his back and had to bite back the groan that played at her lips. She ran her fingers down the corded muscles of his arms as he sat stock-still. She didn’t think he was even breathing.
When she was finished, he turned to face her, asking less than innocently, “Would ye like to put some on me chest?” The twinkle in his eyes gave him away and she pursed her lips, shook her head, and handed him the sunscreen.
“You can handle that yourself,” she said.
“I dinnae believe I can, lass. Yer much better at it than I,” he teased, holding the sunscreen out for her to take.
“Okay. If you insist. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to help you with it, especially since you have so little experience with this kind of thing.”
Jenna sat on her heels, facing him. She took a deep breath. This was going to take a lot of self-control on her part, but apparently she had none as her hands began to shake when she placed them flat on his chest, rubbing the lotion all over him. She looked up and directly into his deep blue eyes. He had a smoldering expression on his face and she quickly lowered her gaze back to his chest. She wasn’t sure which was worse – the rock hard chest or the unbelievably gorgeous face. There didn’t seem to be anywhere else to look, because when she lowered her eyes they aligned directly with his lap and the hard, projection of desire that taunted her. Jerking her head back up, she directed her gaze towards the ocean and mentally started counting the waves. Cormac didn’t seem content to allow that to happen and he placed his fingers under her chin and turned her to face him again.
She took one look into his eyes and true to her nature of late, Jenna jumped up from the blanket and ran towards the water. “I’m going in to cool off. It’s getting too warm for me,” she shouted over her shoulder as she ran.
* * *
Cormac watched in wonder as Jenna ran full tilt for the water. He laughed to himself. She really was quite smitten with him. No matter how angry or frustrated she became with him, she wanted him. He knew that look and he’d never been happier to see it on any lass’s face before this. Her sweet little legs carried her quickly to the water where she dove in to the waves, disappearing for a moment before emerging like a goddess from the sea, water sparkling like diamonds as it coursed over her body. His aching manhood could probably use a dose of that same water about now. Making his way down the sand and towards the water, Cormac kept watch on Jenna. She was his to protect and he made sure she kept safe as he proceeded. By the time he reached her, Dylan and another young man were beside her and obviously discussing the waves. They were pointing away from the shore and in deep discussion when Cormac approached.
“Cormac. Ready to try some surfing, my man?” Dylan asked.
The number of different names Dylan had for him was baffling.My man, dood, bro…“Aye. I’d like to try, if ye’ll show me.”
“Okay. Jesse here is going to show Jenna and I’ll work with you.”
Cormac was really notokaywith it, but since he was only learning himself, there wasn’t much he could do about it. He watched as Jesse smiled broadly and gave Jenna an appreciative glance. He spoke quietly to her and Cormac strained his ears to hear, but to no avail. Jenna was laughing as she stood beside him. Much to Cormac’s dismay, he watched as Jenna laid on the board and Jesse climbed on, laying partially atop her. They began paddling out further into the water. Dylan was talking to Cormac, but he didn’t hear a word he said. The rush of jealousy and anger filling his head prevented it.
“Dude. You really need to pay attention. Forget about what they’re doing.”
“But why must he lie atop her like that?”
“Don’t be jealous, bro. It’s just Jesse. He’s only sixteen years old. You’ve got nothing to worry about in that department.”
Cormac knew that a sixteen year old could be just as dangerous to a woman as an older man could. He wanted to swim out to them and pull Jesse off her, but controlled the urge and did as Dylan suggested. This was not his time, he had to remember, people acted differently here.
